WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER SETS RECORD VISITS FOR YEAR 7,017,658 VISITS! 2,098,003 VISITORS MADE 6 VISITS A DAY EVERY DAY. 63,330 UNIQUE VISITORS MADE 133,730 VISITS IN DECEMBER. WPCNR AVERAGED 17,284 VISITORS A WEEK, VISITING 31,270 TIMES.

Hits: 0

WPCNR Main Street Journal. By John F. Bailey. April 4, 2004: Circle the date, matey, Legal Seafoods will have its charter voyage April 14, sailing from Mamaroneck Avenue at the City Center. The warm cherrywood interiors of the new Legal Seafoods vessel being outfitted at City Center, beckoned in passersby on Mamaroneck Avenue Saturday afternoon. One couple came in pleading for chowder, as training of staff was underway inside for the swank, macho-furnished, new shrine to seafood in White Plains – which when it opens will be the only seafood restaurant in the city.

DOCKING APRIL 14: The awnings and chrome and the leaping Cod on Mamaroneck Avenue, already adding life to the City Center. Photo by WPCNR News.

When Legal Seafoods opens for dinner 5 P.M. on April 14, at City Center it will become at once the best seafood restaurant in the County, with more selection, more atmosphere and better prices without the sauce-mad superficiality and limp-finned sea dishes so typical of seafood in the county.

A hostess and a corporate executive conducting training exercises yesterday told WPCNR that the shrine to seafood will open April 14 for dinner at 5 P.M, with 7-days a week, full service beginning April 15 for lunch. They will be open Monday through Thursday 11 A.M. to 10 P.M., Fridays and Saturdays, 11 to 11, and Sundays, 12 to 9.

IN THE WHEELHOUSE:  White Plains Legal Seafoods will serve 230 persons at one time. It has a great cherrywood interior complete with a long bar on the left, a circular  glass-enclosed “Wheelhouse,” pictured above sitting area just inside the entrance where “Captains of Development” will hold court, and is lined with steely chrome furnishes, blue and white plates on the walls, and cozy booths. Though it was quiet when WPCNR visited yesterday, you could almost hear the clash of blue plates that will be a trade mark of this place when it opens, and the aroma of butter, steamed clams, and searing choice filets. Photo by WPCNR News

I remember seafood was once a lusty, slambang experience down at Louie’s across from the Fulton Fish Market,  on City Island, harborside in The Lobster House in Norwalk, or down on Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn, or at the Oyster Bar in Grand Central Terminal.  

Over the last fifty years, the fruits of the sea have been corrupted by gourmet sauces, small portions, decorative “presentation,” served on huge plates, with all sorts of wimpy dressings, capers, almonds, greens, products of the elitist nouvelle cuisine – anything but what belongs on a side of fish — anything but  the taste of seafood. These enhancements simply distract the seafood enthusiast from the natural manly flavor of bluefish, striped bass, cod, lobster, scrod, swordfish and tuna.

This insidious emasculation of seafood movement began when some chef seared tuna for the first time, and tuna cooked rare, and has gradually declined to the point where the taste of real seafood has been corrupted into a shadow of its former flavor.

On April 14, fruits of the sea fans, this changes when Legal Seafoods opens up in the White Plains downtown.

Having patronized the Legal Seafoods in Boston, I can tell you that fish is on its way back. The portions in Legal Seafoods are  huge slashes of filets, the atmosphere slam-dash, the décor salty, and even though you may be miles inland, you can smell the salt air and almost swear the sway of the trawler tied up at the dock just outside the restaurant. When this opens, it will be the only restaurant other than City Limits with genuine atmosphere in White Plains.

The hostess we met gave WPCNR a take-out menu which will feature take out to die for: Cioppino, Steamers, Steamed Mussels, Calamari, it has to be seen to be believed.

So watch for it, and bon voyage.

Hits: 0

WPCNR WHITE PLAINS LAW JOURNAL. March 30, 2004: The Pro Bono Partnership has named Susan Corcoran of the law firm Jackson Lewis LLP the 2003 Volunteer of the Year.  A partner in the firm’s White Plains office, Susan has been honored for her outstanding commitment to providing free employment law related services to several of the Partnership’s clients – community based non-profit organizations in Westchester and Fairfield Counties, many of whom serve the needs of children.  Susan also serves as a resource to the Partnership’s legal staff on a broad range of employment-related issues. 

Says Mo Segall, the Partnership’s Deputy Director for New York and Connecticut, “Susan is terrific.  We wish we had more volunteers just like her.”  Pat Vaccaro, Managing Partner of the White Plains office of Jackson Lewis, commented, “At Jackson Lewis we believe in giving back to the communities in which we live and do business and we take very seriously our relationship with the Pro Bono Partnership.  We applaud the Partnership’s choice of Susan as its Volunteer of the Year.  She is an outstanding attorney and person with a keen sense of civic and community responsibility.”

Established in 1958, Jackson Lewis is one of the largest firms in the country dedicated to representing management exclusively in employment law and related litigation.  With 360 attorneys in 20 offices nationwide, the firm is knowledgeable about national issues and sensitive to the nuances of regional business environments.

The firm’s White Plains, New York office, with 45 professionals, is reputed to be the largest labor and employment law firm between New York City and the Canadian border.  The firm devotes a significant portion of its practice to management education and preventive programs.  This approach helps limit exposure to lawsuits, administrative charges, grievances and related costs.

For more information about our firm, visit www.jacksonlewis.com.

Hits: 0

WPCNR MAIN STREET JOURNAL. April 3, 2004: In a news release issued Friday, the New York State Office of Parks and Historical Preservation officially designated the Bar Building an historic site, which requires the owner of the Bar Building to “keep up the building,” as part of  the responsibility of the designation. It could not be determined at press time whether the owner of the Bar Building was required to make improvements in the building. The owner of the building, Anthony Longhitano, according to the White Plains Historical Society, has applied within the last week and a half to have it nationally designated as an historical site as well.

WINNER! The Bar Building built in 1926 as it appears today. The Renaissance Plaza fountain was taking Spring Training. Photo by WPCNR News.

LOSER! The Corner Nook block will be demolished in May according to Louis Cappelli, to provide plaza space for the One City Place apartments. It has been known for three years the block was going to be demolished, the only question was when and by whom. Now we know.  Photo by WPCNR News

In another development, Louis Cappelli, the Super Developer, in a newsfeed to The Journal News said he would demolish the Corner Nook-bookstore-deli block next to City Place in May, giving The Corner Nook cafe the rest of April to vacate the premises. He also announced that he would help The Corner Nook with money to locate another location in the city.

Hits: 0

WPCNR GREENBURGH GAZETTE. From Greenburgh Town Supervisior Paul Feiner. April 2, 2004: Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner announced that the Greenburgh Town Board will vote on the attached 2 resolutions at a Special Meeting of the Greenburgh Town Board on Saturday morning at 9:30 AM. The Town Board will dedicate Taxter Ridge as permanent parkland and take steps to turn an abandoned house at the park into an affordable home for a town employee. Those having comments on the proposed resolution are invited to e mail Supervisor Feiner at pfeiner@greenburgh.com or to call him at 993 l540.

Hits: 0

WPCNR’S ADAM IN ALBANY. By District 89 Assemblyman Adam T. Bradley. April 2, 2004: As a candidate for the Assembly, I was an outspoken advocate for budget reform. I am pleased to announce that the Assembly and Senate members of a bipartisan conference committee have come to an agreement on a package of budget reforms that will help ensure fair, on-time state budgets that meet the needs of Westchester County by employing better long-term and annual planning, closer oversight of spending, and more public input.

As a candidate for the Assembly, I was an outspoken advocate for budget reform. I am pleased to announce that the Assembly and Senate members of a bipartisan conference committee have come to an agreement on a package of budget reforms that will help ensure fair, on-time state budgets that meet the needs of Westchester County by employing better long-term and annual planning, closer oversight of spending, and more public input.

School districts in Westchester County will benefit greatly from these reforms. The plan includes the Assembly’s proposal to require a two year appropriation for education aid – providing schools with information they need to plan ahead and avoid property tax increases. It also creates an education reserve fund in the state constitution to ensure sufficient funds exist for the payment of aid in May and June of each year.

The reform package provides the Legislature with more accurate revenue forecasts and gives additional time to review the details of the governor’s budget proposal so legislators can make better decisions by:

·        implementing an “enhanced fast start plan,” a discussion between the governor and Legislature on revenue forecasts and projected expenses that would begin on November 15;

·        creating a nonpartisan independent budget office to provide objective analyses of state revenues that can be used to make decisions in a timely manner – without the time consuming debate that often occurs;

·        requiring the governor to submit his budget by January 15 (February 1 for a newly-elected governor);

·        shortening the amendment period from 30 to 21 days to allow time for legislative review; and

·        adding Health Care Reform Act programs like Family Health Plus and Child Health Plus into the overall state budget.

I have consistently supported moving the start of the state’s fiscal year from April 1 to May 1, and continuing government operations through a contingency budget if a new budget is not passed on time – two ideas that have been incorporated into the conference committee’s reform plan. By pushing back the budget deadline, we will be able to give different organizations across the state a more reliable way to plan their budgets. And by creating an independent budget office, we take away one of the biggest sources of partisan disagreement.

The package would also require a three-year projection by the governor and Legislature of the financial impact of any changes to the executive budget to provide better long-term planning. To put more money away in “rainy day” funds, the plan would create a reserve fund equal to 5 percent of all state funds to cushion against economic downturns, revenue shortfalls and natural disasters.

I commend the bipartisan conference committee for the package of budget reforms they’ve put forth. This is a good beginning, but there is much more work to be done to reform state government. These initiatives will ensure better planning and better financial forecasts, enabling the Legislature to enact better budgets. I hope the governor will endorse these reforms as we offer them to the voters of our state to ratify.